Attachment for machines for driving fasteners.



T. B. RICE, JR- ATTACHMENT FOR MACHINES FOR DRIVING FASTENERS. APPLIVCATION FILED JUNE 6. I914.

1,153,955. PatentedSept. 21, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEE'I l.

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T. B. RICE, .IR- ATTACHMENT FOR MACHINES FOR DRIVING FASTENERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6.1914.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEEI 2 WITNESSES IToIINEvs THOMAS B. RICE, JR,

OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ATTACHMENT FOR MACHINES FOR DRIVING FASTENERS.

Specification of Letters Batent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

Application filed June 6, 1914. Serial No. 843,327.

To all 'wlwmit may concern Be it known that I, THoMAs B.

Bron-Jr, a citizen of the United States, residing the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Attachment for Machines for Driving Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of an attachmentfor machines for driving fasteners by means of which the two articles to be united can be held with their edges suitably guided and abutting while the fastener is driven into the boards.

It further consists of means for feeding the articles with their edges firmly abutting,

beneath the driving mechanism for the fasteners. e I

It further consists of other novelfeatures of construction, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail one -mechanical form embodying the invention, such detail construction being but one of various mechanical forms in which the ciple of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings-Figure 1 represents an. end view of a machine for driving fasteners embodying my invention, with the support for the articles, such as boards, shown in section. Fig. 2 represents a planview of the board-feeding and supporting means and removed from the driving mechanism. Fig. 3 represents a side-view of said parts. Fig. 4 represents a view of two joined boards.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral, 1, indicates a machine of any desired or required construction for driving fasteners into the adjacent edges of'two boards, which machine is illustrated as adapted to sever a strip, 2, of sheet-metal into short lengths, 3, which are driven into the abutting portions of the boards, 4 and 5, from one face of'the same, as illustrated in Fig. 4: of the drawings. While the fasteners areillustrated as pieces of corrugated sheet-metal driven edgewise into the wood, it is evident that any fastener which crosses the abutting edges. of two articles and hold them together may'be used.

stationary platen, 6, is carried by a .beneath the driver. stationary platen upon which the one stack l able platen,

prinbe moving free ends,

, posed spring.

suitable support or frame, 7, beneath the driving mechanism, which latter has a vertically reciprocated plunger, 8, beneath which the fastener strip is fed by a feeder,

9, and-is cut into suitable lengths which it drives into the boards to be joined. hopper, 10, is supported above the platen and is adapted to contain a stack of boards to be joined, such boards being stacked in pairs and with-their edges adjoining. A plunger, 12, is reciprocable-in the bottom of the hopper to successively push two boards out .of the latter and onto the portion of the platen 'The portion, 27, of the of boards rests, is raised slightly above the level of the other portion, so that the meeting edge of the lowermost board of the adjoining stack of boards bears against the ralsed edge of the raised portion, and a mov- 14, is guided in an-opening, 15, a in the raised portion of the stationary platen to move vertically in the same and the'inn'er edge of said movable platen is in the line of the joining edges of the boards to be united, so that the edge of one board will abut against the said edge of the movable platen which. is normally slightly raised above the level of the depressed portion of the stationary platen andupon which movable platen the other board rests, the levels of the movable platen and of the raised portion of the stationary platen being the same. platen has depending flanges, 16, through which pass bars, 17, each se-' cured at one end, in the present instance, to the under side of the stationary platen, passing through slots, 18, in flanges, 19, depending from the edges of the opening for the movable platen. The opposite ends of the bars 17 are resiliently supported, and, as here shown, are provided with openings in their said free ends movable upon bolts, 20, carried upon platen and having coiled springs, 21, bearing against said bars, and nuts, 22, upon the bolts, serve for adjustment of said springs 21. Springs, 23 and 24, are secured with their ends upon the stationary platen at the sides of the hopper and extend toward a point beneath the driver and converge normally toward each other with their curved 25, and 26. The spring 23 is stifi'er and stronger than the oppreferably the under side of the stationary In practice, the boards are stacked in pairs in the hopper with their joining edges in suitable relation. When the lowermost pair of boards are pushed out by the plunger and slid over the platens, one, as 4, will have its inner edge forced against the edge of the raised movable platen by the stifi spring 23, which it has pushed outward, so that the inner edge of the board 4: will bear against the edge of the movable platen which is raised and held so by the bars and springs,

and will be held truly against the edge of the other board which rests upon the movable platen and is held against the opposite board by the spring at bearing against its outer edge. The plunger is'now depressed and drives one orv more fasteners into the boards and secures the abutting edges. pair of the boards can be fed forward to insert fastenings one set after another, and the springs will hold the edges of the boards together. Each time the' plunger is depressed and drives in a fastener or fasteners, the movable platen and board carried thereby are depressed even. with the stationary platen, that is, the faces of the movable laten and they lower stationary platen are rought into alinement, and the. boards will be united with their joined edges tightly drawn against each other and their faces level with each other. The lateral spring supports and the board being alined by a bearing against the edge of the movable platen and having the edge of the other board forced against its edge will insure an automatic and perfectly true -fit of the edges of the two boards, so that the operator of the machine is merely required to look after the feeding of boards into the hopper and successive feeding of the pairs of boards out of the bottom of the hopper by the recipro eating plunger.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed for'the mode herein explained. Change may therefore be made as regards the mechanism thus disclosed, provided the principles of construction set forth, respectively, in the following claims are employed. 4 Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the character stated, a rigid platen, a platen movably supported in suitable relation to said rigid platen, one of said platens having its face normally above the face of the other and having a guiding edge, and yielding guiding means arrange to bear against the members to be united,

theedge of one of said members in contact -with said guiding edge.

for machines for driving fasteners,

yieldin ly supported to have its face northereby and provided receive a fastener. and to hold their edges abutting and to hold bers to be united to hold their joining edges together.

3. In an attachment for machines for driving'fasteners, a rigid platen, a platen yieldingly supported to have its face normally above the face of the rigid platen and having a straight guide-edge, and yielding guides arranged to have their guide-portions at opposite sides of said guide-edge and adapted to bear against the outer edges of the members to be'united to hold their joining edges together.

4;. In an attachment for machines for driving fasteners, a rigid platen, a platen yieldingly supported to have its face normally'above the face of the rigid platen and having a guide-edge, yielding lateral guides at oppositesides of said guide-edge, a hopper adapted united stacked within it and having a discharge opening, and a plunger slidable across the. bottom. of said hopper and in alinement with the discharge opening.

5. In an attachment for machines driving fasteners, a rigid platen, a platen movable in its relation to the latter and formed with a ide-edge, means for yieldingly and resiliently supporting said movable platen to normally maintain its upper face above that of the rigid platen, and springs suitably secured on opposite sides of the guide-edge and having ends adapted to bear against the .outer edges of the members to be united.

6'. In an attachment for machines for driving fasteners, a rigid platen, a platen movable in the latter and formed with a to have the members to be for movable platen and normally supporting the same 'to have its upper face above that of the rigid platen, springs secured at their ends and having their free ends converging toward the guide-edge from opposite sides and curved to bear against the outer edges of the members to be joined, a hopper having an opening at its bottom, and a plunger reciprocable across. the bottom of said hopper.

7 In a machine for fastening wooden pieces, the combination of a suitable frame, a table supported thereon, an apron carried with a centering edge and means mounted on the table for coacting with a pair of wooden pieces, to bring them into position against said centering edge to 8. In a machine for fastening wooden pieces, in combination with a supporting table, an apron carried thereby and having a centering edge, yielding means for holding I edge ineffective against the action of the said yieldin 9. In a machine for fastening WOOdQII pieces, in combination with a supporting table, an apron carried thereby and having a centering edge, and means, on both sides 7 table, an apron carried thereby and, having a centering edge and springs on opposite sides of the centering edgefor bringing together the Wooden pieces against the cen- 15 tering edge to be fastened. v

11..-In a machine for fastening wooden pieces, in combination with a supporting table, an apron carried thereby and having a centering edge and springs of diflerent 20 strength for bringing together the wooden pieces to be fastened against the centering edge...

THOMAS B. RICE, JR, Witnesses EUDE HEGH, v Amen R. Bonn. 

